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Current Status of Semen Banking in the USA

Author

Critser, John K.

Bibliographic Citation

Human Reproduction. 1998 May; 13(Suppl. 2): 55-69.

Abstract

Anonymous donor sperm banking has been a fundamental aspect of
reproductive medicine for several decades. In 1987, more than 170,000 women in
the USA were treated for infertility using artificial insemination. Current
estimates suggest that the number of women seeking treatment for infertility
has increased markedly since that time; however, there are no accurate,
updated data to indicate the magnitude of that increase. Most anonymous donor
sperm banks in the USA can be categorized as one of three types based upon
administrative structure: (i) physician practice based; (ii) hospital/clinic
based; or (iii) commercial corporations. Of these it is estimated that the
most common structures are the physician office and hospital/clinic based
banks. However, the largest (i.e. those processing the most units) are the
for-profit corporate banks. A survey conducted in 1989 found that there were
at least 135 sperm banks operating in the USA. More recent information
indicates the number of banks to be somewhere between 50 and 150. Guidelines
for anonymous donor sperm banking practices have been established by the
American Society for Reproductive Medicine and standards have been established
by the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB). The AATB has recently
established an inspection and accreditation programme and six anonymous donor
banks have been accredited in the last few years. It is anticipated that
mandatory registration of all donor banks will be required by the FDA in the
near future with mandatory inspection and accreditation to follow shortly
thereafter.